A girdle is a piece of women's
underwear that replaced
the
corset in popularity and
usage. Constructed of
elasticized fabric and
usually fastened with
hook and eye closures, it is designed to shape and smooth
a woman's figure, thereby producing a more aesthetically
pleasing and attractive
silhouette. A girdle can extend as high as the neck
line (incorporating a
brassiere) and as low as
the thighs. A girdle may also include
garters to hold up
stockings.
While such a piece of clothing may seem uncomfortable and
unnecessary now, when it was first designed it was a significant
improvement compared to wearing a corset, which would have
to be laced up and included rigid
boning. Girdles are still
worn today, but much more rarely than during the 1950s and
1960s. In that period, the advent of the
DiorNew Look gave
rise to women's
fashion featuring a narrow,
nipped-in waistline, also known as "the
wasp".
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